Sensex, Nifty fall further in early noon deals

Indian equity benchmarks remained under selling pressure in early afternoon deals, with both Sensex and Nifty fell further, on account of mixed cues from other Asian markets along with heavy selling at Utilities and Metal counters. Traders were cautious, as the US central bank Federal Reserve said another hike in interest rate may be needed to tame inflation and bring it to 2 per cent target. The street took a note of a private report stating that India will take a medium-term view to intensify efforts to ease inflation pressures and avoid any knee-jerk reaction to transitory price increases.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed, after Japan's tertiary activity index decreased more-than-expected in June after rising in the previous two months. According to data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry, the seasonally adjusted tertiary activity index dropped 0.4 percent month-on-month in June, reversing a 1.0 percent rise in May. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 65167.26, down by 372.16 points or 0.57% after trading in a range of 65126.52 and 65535.14. There were 4 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining, while one stock remained unchanged on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose by 0.19%, while Small cap index was up by 0.28%.

The only gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 1.24% and Realty up by 0.11%, while Utilities down by 1.07%, Metal down by 0.76%, Energy down by 0.72%, Oil & Gas down by 0.71% and FMCG down by 0.64% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The few gainers on the Sensex were Titan Company up by 1.62%, Axis Bank up by 0.45%, Bajaj Finserv up by 0.32% and SBI up by 0.23%. On the flip side, Power Grid Corporation of India by 2.06%, ITC down by 1.94%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.40%, JSW Steel down by 1.19% and Nestle down by 1.15% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, rating agency ICRA maintains its Stable outlook on the Indian hospital industry, supported by expectations of healthy revenue growth and strong margins for ICRA’s sample set, led by the rising incidence of non-communicable lifestyle diseases, growing per capita spend on healthcare and awareness levels, increasing penetration of health insurance and higher medical tourism volumes.

ICRA expects the aggregate occupancy for its hospital industry’s sample set to remain strong at 63-65% in FY2024 (65.1% in FY2023), backed by sustained healthy demand for healthcare services and continued market share gains for organized players. The average revenue per occupied bed (ARPOB) is expected to witness moderate growth of 5-7% in FY2024 (after witnessing an expansion of 10% in FY2023), given the high base of the previous year. Improving the specialty mix, better pay or mix (with a focus on cash and insurance patients), and annual price revisions by companies to offset cost inflation will support the ARPOB growth for the sample set. Overall, ICRA estimates revenue growth in FY2024 at 8-10%. Improving operating leverage coupled with continued cost optimization and digitization measures are expected to support a healthy OPM of around 22-23% in FY2024.

According to the report, private equity investments have also witnessed a healthy ramp-up in the Indian hospital industry, with deals worth over Rs 27,000 crore in the last two years. The in-patient footfalls for ICRA’s sample set improved sequentially during every quarter of FY2023 (except Q3 FY2023, due to the deferral of elective surgeries by patients during the festive season), mainly aided by the strong revival in medical tourism, coupled with changing patient preferences towards large hospitals on the back of increasing insurance coverage. The average length of stay (ALOS) in FY2023 stood at 3.6 days and is expected to remain low, backed by faster throughput of patients, which is also supported by technological advancements. 

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 19352.70, down by 112.30 points or 0.58% after trading in a range of 19344.10 and 19461.55. There were 8 stocks advancing against 41 stocks declining, while one stock remained unchanged on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Adani Ports & SEZ up by 2.18%, Titan Company up by 1.63%, Adani Enterprises up by 0.60%, Axis Bank up by 0.57% and Britannia Industries up by 0.46%. On the flip side, Power Grid Corporation of India down by 2.16%, ITC down by 2.01%, LTIMindtree down by 1.75%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.47% and Ultratech Cement down by 1.20% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Taiwan Weighted added 69.88 points or 0.42% to 16,516.66, Hang Seng advanced 17.9 points or 0.1% to 18,347.20 and Shanghai Composite strengthened 15.91 points or 0.5% to 3,166.04, while KOSPI dropped 5.79 points or 0.23% to 2,519.85, Straits Times fell 14.47 points or 0.45% to 3,199.11 and Nikkei 225 slipped 140.82 points or 0.45% to 31,626.00.